Miller Grove wins Tim Menke Invitational

Five of the seven Hopkins County schools participated in the 26th Annual Tim Menke Invitational cross country meet Thursday as Miller Grove high school boys and Cumby high school girls took home team gold.

Miller Grove narrowly beat out Sulphur Bluff with 61 points to Bluff ’s 64. The Hornets were led by Anthony Lester’s seventh place finish with a time of 18:38.00 and Drew Lester’s 10th finish of 19:19.20. Aiden Yudell placed 15th, and Jaden Furrah and Jesse Yates placed 20th and 21st respectively. Eastin Christian came in 30th, and Scott Major finished 37th.

Sulphur Bluff ’s second place finish was led by Christian Gonzales who placed fifth with a time of 18:25.88. Teammates Dalton Klempter and Matthew Overly finished 11th and 13th respectively, and Dakota Copeland wasn’t too far behind in 16th place. Dakora Klempter and Braydon Byrd earned 38th and 39th respectively, and Landin Dugnolle and Jayden Carrell finished in 44th and 45th in the same order. In the back was Cayden Cascia at 51st.

Como-Pickton placed fourth overall and had two strong finishers in the top ten. Giovanni Munoz barely missed an individual bronze medal with a fourth place of 18:03.30, and Kasey Neal landed sixth place with a time of 18:31.92. Koalton Burkhart placed 14th, and Jared Satterfield finished 35th. Jonathan Stokely came in at 57th.

Cumby placed fifth with 80 points and were behind Como-Pickton by three points. The Trojans were paced by runners Jasper Smith, who finished eighth with 18:43.47, and Chett Vaughn, who finished ninth with a time of 19:01.85. Clayton Krotky wasn’t too far behind in 12th, and Dakota Ridings finished 36th. Caylor Hoops placed 49th.

The host North Hopkins did not finish in the top six as a team, but Jonathan Hatley earned gold as he finished with a time of 17:42.65. Teammates Juan Gonzales and Clinton Degen finished 25th and 34th respectively.

The results for the girls will be published in upcoming editions of the News-Telegram.